Talks bring thaw to ‘Cold Peace’

Feb 24 2011

Yevgeny Shestakov

Drawing by Niyaz Karim

Meetings between Sergei Lavrov and William Hague seem to indicate a new phase in Russo-British relations.

It may not be a breakthrough, but the existing problems between
Russia and the United Kingdom brought about by cold wars and mutual distrust are
no longer taboo topics. On his first official visit to London last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov closed the books on an era of frosty
political relations with Moscow that had characterized Tony Blair’s time as
prime minister.

The thoughtful and intelligent views of British Foreign Secretary William
Hague, whose wisdom has been polished over the years by multiple political
battles, have replaced the hot-headed and often impulsive nature of his
predecessor David Miliband, who came across as wanting to teach Russia British
common sense.

This by no means implies that London has surrendered its positions in favor of
restoring a dialogue with Russia, but Hague vividly demonstrated his
country’s ability to transform quickly during Lavrov’s visit. Such
transformations are being seen not only in the economy, where Prime Minister
David Cameron is carrying out large-scale reforms, but also in foreign policy,
where it turns out that London can nevertheless hold a constructive dialogue
with its more complex partners without ditching its principles. Commenting on
their meeting, Hague said gradual progress was being made step by step.

This measured Russian-British forced march, void of any bravura, has shown the
first signs of paying off. The previous approach of simply marking time and
only giving the illusion that progress was being made has come to an end. The
work the two ministers put into a joint statement on Afghanistan, which was
passed on Lavrov’s visit to London, demonstrated that Downing Street and the
Kremlin can achieve results when there is strong political will.

What made the situation unique was that there were roughly six points of
contention on the joint declaration when the two foreign ministers sat down for
talks, but Lavrov and Hague insisted experts involved in the negotiations
find a compromise in an hour. Amazingly, 60 minutes was long enough to fully
resolve all the disputed issues.

It appears there has also been a shift in London on another issue that long
remained contentious under the previous British government: cooperation between
intelligence agencies in the fight against terrorism. The British Foreign
Secretary confirmed this was one of the main subjects discussed at the talks.
The two men agreed in principle to exchange experience in such delicate matters
as security for Olympic facilities. Hague was slightly evasive in his reply
about when such cooperation would begin, saying only that the appropriate
services would think about how to establish such interaction, but it was still
clear the foreign ministers had reached a mutual understanding on this issue.

The missing link appears to have been found in the Russian-British agenda,
despite its relative brevity at first glance. The lack of such a link, which
could be described as tolerance for different viewpoints, had hampered the
dialogue between Moscow and London for several years.

In addition, the two men did not shy away from controversial issues that could
have put a damper on the atmosphere during the talks. On the contrary, Rossiyskaya
Gazeta learned that Hague reminded Lavrov about the situation
involving a Guardian newspaper correspondent who had been unable to enter
Russia because of technical problems. The Foreign Secretary thanked his Russian
counterpart for his efforts in resolving the problem. Hague also expressed
gratitude for the Russian security services’ actions to provide consular and
medical assistance to British citizens injured during the January terrorist
attack at Domodedovo airport in Moscow.

Taking questions from students at the London School of Economics, Lavrov
mentioned on several occasions that Russia was prepared to involve all of
Europe in its modernization programs, with particular emphasis on innovative
sectors of the economy.

These programs, to be called “A Partnership for Modernization,” would be
extremely important for the European Union and its key members amid the global
economic crisis, Lavrov said. In this regard, the minister noted that Peter the
Great had also attached great importance to co-operation with Europe in the
development of the Russian state 300 years earlier.

Overall, the sides can pride themselves that thorny issues were discussed,
including the Mikhail Khodorkovsky case and UK moves to deport Russian
citizen Yekaterina Zatuliveter for alleged spying, without harming or altering
the two sides’ conceptual approach, whether for these negotiations or future
ones. This approach can basically be summed up as Moscow and London finally
being united in the understanding that existing disagreements should not hamper
areas where they capable of co-operating.

Yevgeny Shestakov is editor of the international politics
desk at Rossiyskaya Gazeta.